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More than 300 spectators gathered and sang “We Shall Overcome” yesterday in a rally to draw attention to violence against transgender individuals after the violent attack on Chrissy Polis, a transgender woman violently attacked in a McDonald’s bathroom in Rosedale, Md.

The rally, which brought out politicians, community leaders, and supporters, called for an end to violence and was “surprisingly upbeat and jubilant,” according to The Washington Blade.

“The turnout tonight is wonderful, I’m so happy,” Renee Carr, Polis’ mother, told The Blade. “I didn’t think that McDonald’s was a dangerous place, all she wanted to do was eat and use the bathroom,” Carr continued referring to the April 18 attack.

According to a police report, the incident began when the two female attackers—one 14 years old and the other 18 years old—became upset after seeing Polis enter the women’s restroom.

The attack, recorded in a three-minute video by a McDonald’s employee, went viral over the past week with more than 500,000 people having watched it on one site. Since then, the video has been removed from YouTube and the McDonald’s employee has been fired by the franchisee.

“This is truly an LGBT moment,” Mary Washington, a lesbian member of Maryland’s House of Delegates from Baltimore City, said. “Our allies are here as well. I see this moment lasting and we will resume the fight to pass HB 235.”

The Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act, or HB 235, failed in the Maryland legislature earlier this year after not garnering the needed support from lawmakers.

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